Cooling pad hanger systems



Sept. 2, 1958 H. R. BOHANON COOLING PAD HANGER SYSTEMS Filed Oct. 11, 1956 INVENTOR HOY R. BOHANON ATTORNEY 1 n I I I l I I p l 1 United States Patent Gfiice 2,850,269 Patented Sept. 2, 1958 COOLING PAD HANGER SYSTEMS Hoy R. Bohauon, Muskogee, Okla.

Application October 11, 1956, Serial No. 615,276

Claims. (Cl. 261-97) The present invention relates to cooling pad hanger systems and pads therefor, which are adaptable for installation in the vertical wall of any water evaporative type of cooling systems, large or small, for maintaining an efliciently water-soaked wall of padding through which a flow of air is cooled by the resulting induced vaporization of the water.

The object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive universally adaptable and eificient cooling pad wall construction made simply of standard materials for any size wall.

Another object is to make the drip conductor, water spreader, drip collector, return gutter and covers for the above construction of uniform cross-sections respectively, whereby proper lengths of each, in accordance with the length of the particular wall to be built, may be readily cut to size from standard stock material.

A further object is to provide the water spreader material with an offset lower portion to form a hook ledge on which to hang the pad frames.

A further object is to make all the above parts of galvanized or other rust-proof and corrosion resistant materials.

A further object is to use standard coarse wire screen material for making pad frames of a length substantially equal to the height of the wall to be built, having an upper edge of the screen material bent to form a hook portion for hanging over the hook ledge of the water spreader.

A further object is to provide anti-sag means for the pad material by cutting some of the screen wires at suitably spaced points adjacent one of their cross-wires respectively, and bending the cut points inwardly of the pad before assembling the pad frame, to form spacedly distributed prongs for piercing into the pad from both sides when the pad, which is cut slightly oversize, is sandwiched in between two screens forming a box frame therefor.

A further object is to use a screen material which has a spread between wires substantially equal to the thick ness of the pad material, whereby the prongs will be of suificient length to substantially pass through the entire thickness of the pad material.

A further object is to form the box frame for the pad by cutting two lengths of the standard screen material substantially longer than the height of the wall to be built by the thickness of the box frame, one piece of .padding of similar standard width and substantially the same length, bending the bottom and one side edge of one screen to form two of the box frame edges, bending the other side and top of the other screen to form the other two edges of the box frame, sandwiching in the slightly oversize padding into said box frame, and fastening the adjacent edges of the two screens around the sides and bottom leaving the bent top edge to serve as a hook to hang over the water spreader hook ledge.

Other and more specific objects will appear in the following detailed description of one specific form of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view in elevation of a standard construction made in accordance with the present invention,

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a pad structure showing how it is put together,

Fig. 3 illustrates one application of the present invention to a storehouse requiring a cool humid atmosphere, and

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view similar to Fig. 2, but showing a modification in the structure to provide anti-sag means for the pad.

This invention is particularly adaptable to provide a simple economical way of building the evaporating pad walls for large installations such as greenhouses, storehouses, etc., where the required cooling pad area is seldom duplicated in different installations.

The present construction lends itself to the use of standard stock materials to easily and economically build a cooling pad wall of any height and any length that may be required for any specific design of cooling system.

Cooling systems of the evaporative wall type usually operate by providing an exhaust fan near the top of one end wall of a building to be cooled and a cooling pad wall near the base of the other end having water soaked absorbent pads through which air is sucked in from the outside atmosphere. The water for soaking the pad is generally circulated by a pump delivering the water to a drip conductor at the top of the pad, through which the water trinkl'es down into a gutter at the bottom for return to the pump sump.

Effective cooling without sacrificing simplicity in construction has been a major problem in many of these systems. The present invention has economically solved this problem.

The construction here illustrated may be readily built by inexperienced builders according to instructions from the inner screen frame bent to hang over a hook ledge 12 at the bottom of the offset portion 13 of a water spreader strip. The strip is fixed at its upper edge 14 to the outside of the upper stringer 15 along the lower edge of the stringer. A similar stringer 16 is fixed to the bottom of the wall frame. These stringers are preferably of wood and run the full length of the cooling pad wall to form a continuous seal therefor. The water spreader strip is of a solid sheet material having a uniform cross-sectional form as shown. The surface of this material should have a capillary attraction for water to facilitate its spreading on the offset portion 13 as it drips down from the spaced comparatively large openings 17 in the bottom of the drip conductor 18. This drip conductor is of a height substantially the same as the stringer 15, to which it is fixed over the edge 14 of the spreader strip by means of spikes 19 and spacing ferrules 20 at suitable, intervals along the length of the stringer. A cover strip 21 is hinged at its rear edge to the top of the stringer 15 by staples 22, one leg of which is loosely passed through perforations 23 near the rear edge of the strip at suitably spaced intervals axially of said strip.

A water return drip collector 24 and a drip collector strip 25 having uniform cross-sections as shown in Figure l, are fixed to the lower stringer 16 by spikes 27 and spacing ferrules 28, spaced at suitable intervals along the stringer, the spikes passing through the vertically bent lower edge 26 of the collector strip 25.

A return drip collector cover 29 having a drip collector portion 3!) and a vertical edge portion 31 is bend-' able at the folded corners, so that it may be spread to bring the edge portion 31. against the outer surface of the pad 10 to push it against the drip collector strip 25 at the inside surface and form agood air sealla long the bottom of the pad wall. The lower edge of the vertithe same width. Two pieces 32 and 33 of the wire'scree n ing and one piece 34 of the padding are cut to -a length substantially the same as the distance-between the upper and lower stringers and 16 which are fixed .to the 1 A water circulation pump means (not shown) is provided building in a dead level position at the't'op and bottom of the wall opening left for the installation.

The wire screening pieces are flattened out and should be heavy enough to form flat sides of the box frame, stiff enough to compress the entire pad between them when held together only at the side edges.

The upper edge of the screen piece 32 is bent over,.

preliminary to the assembly, to an angle toforrn the hook portion 11 at an angle'corresponding to that of the hook' ledge 12 at the bottom of' the spreader strip, and one side of this screen piece is bent at 90 to form one side 7 edge of the box frame for' the pad; The pad piece 34 is then placed on piece 32 with its top and corresponding side edge pressed up againstthe bent edges of piece 32. The other side and bottom edges of piece 33 are bent at 90 to form the other two edges of the box frame andpiece 33 is placed over the pad with the bent bottom and side edges against thecorresponding edges of the pad. Piece 33 is then workedinto place, slightly compressing the pad in all directions into the box frame, which is then completed by fixing the adjacent edges at the bottom and sides of the pad with wire rings. The pad is then ready for hanging: The tops of the bent side edges of the screens may be notched or cut away if necessary'to clear the lower edge of hook ledge 12 to facilitate hanging of the pad thereon. V

To avoid sagging of the pad durm'g' operation when it is along the bottom of one end wall 37 and the exhaust fans 38 are mounted in pairs at the two upper corners.

of the other end of the building, to provide the required air flow capacity when needed. Individual covers are provided for these fans to seal oif those that are not being operated when less thanfull capacity is required.

in the building to supply. water at controlled rates to the drip conductor'at the top of the pads, from. which the water drips over the offset portion: of the; spreader where it is evenly spread and flows in a continuous even sheet over the side of the oifset portion into: the top of the padding. The excess water drips from the bottom of the padding into the return drip conductor which is connected to the pump sump, into which a'supplemental or makeup. supply of water is supplied under control in accordance with the amount of water evaporated in the cooling process. H V i The drip openings 17 are large enough to prevent clogging by 'small particles of dirt but the spreaderenables an even distribution not previously obtainable except with very fine drip openings, which are obviously subject to easy clogging and are thus rendered inoperative, unless frequently cleaned. After the drip conductorand return v drip collector are cnt to the required length, theends are 'of course soldered thereon and proper conduits are connected to and from the pump.

Many obvious modifications in the form and ofthe several cooperating parts may be made without departing from the spirit'and scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Whatris claimed is:

1. In a cooling system'for coolingi air by passing it" through water soaked pads, a cooling: pad hanger sysy tern comprising a. horizontal drip conductor having a large drip orifices of a suitable number distributed along its TZbO'ttOl'Il, a waterspreader and hanger strip of sheet metal saturated .with water, someof the wires at spaced .intervals in each of the screen pieces 32' and 33'. may be cut adjacent one of their cross wires and the ,points bent inwardly of the pads as shown in the modification in Fig. 4, to formspikes 35 that will-passinto' the padding during assembly of the. pad to form anti-sag means; thus providinga good air seal around the upper edge of the padding in the pad during operation. yet simple construction is thus provided with .padding material ,that would otherwise not be suitable although having other desirable qualities, such as aspen ,Wood fiber A very efficient padding. These spikes are ,shown in dotted lines: in

Fig.1. 7 7 v a H To accommodate any length of cooling pad wall, where 7 more than one pad is required, the pads may be fastened at adjacent edges by wire rings. If the length requires a pad of less than full width a partial pad, may be readily made by cutting down the width of the pieces 32, 33,,and

an integral number of standard width pads which will provide an overall length nearest that required, or a differentstandard width may be selected forthe pads made from available standard width materials which may be more suitable. V

The gutters, covers, spreadenspikes andferrule's are preferably of galvanized material. The 'Wire screen may extending downwardly from said drip conductor along its rear, said strip having a mid portion offset under said-ori- 2. A cooling pad system asdefined in of said first stringer havin gone legloosely passed'th'rou'gh each of said perforations in said cover to'provide ahinge therefor.

'3.'A cooling pad system such as defined in claim 2;."

wherein all said parts are of uniform cross-sectional r 34 correspondingly. before making and assembling the 'padof reduced widthr Where the length ofwall .re- 'quired is not criticahit may be designed tocomprise befOfhfifiVY galvanized .wire welded at the crossings andz.

' having squares about the size which willform spikes 35 long enough to substantially pass through the padding...

Figure 3 shows an application of the, present invention to a'storehouse 36 whereinth cooling pad wallis'formed form, whereby they can be cut from standard stock to any lengths in accordance with the size of thefparticiilar system. s

4. A cooling pad hangersystem as definedyincl'aim}, wherein more than one pad is hung, wire ringsfixing adjacent edges of the frames of said pads;

5. A cooling pad system as defined in claim 2, and al 7 cover for the portion1of saidreturn. drip collectornot.

covered by the lower endjofsaid, pad frame,.. said cover: havin'g'a portion forming .an outside drip collector and being expandable-in. cross-section to cover various -exposed portions: of said return drip collector inaccord ancewith variations. in tbickness of padsused whereby standard stock material of'uniformcrossj section-maybe cut to length for any installation.

(References on following page) claim- 1, a

"stringer to which said drip conductor and hanger strip are fixed, a'second stringer to'which saijd'return' drip collector is fixed, a cover for; said drip conductor having spaced perforations at the back,; and staples1in the ,top i i Referenc es Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Thomas Jan. 23, 1917 Kl'eucker Jan. 21, 1919 5 Essick Mar. 4, 1941 Belsher Sept. 24, 1946 Lewis Feb. 21, 1950 Brookins Dec. 26, 1950 Shelton Dec. 3, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Feb. 15, 1930 

